Sitting in the Rain
by Benevolent Darkness
Summary: A boy, the test subject of a cruel scientist, steps outside into the world of Gaia. But, that wasn't right- not how it was meant to be. Naruto Uzumaki saw how it was meant to be, and changed it. The rain- rain of blood and death- shall fall. A boy will live. The Elemental Countries will crumble under the might of change. Godlike Naruto, but very unique. Try it.
1. Chapter 1

I only have one thing to say before you start. "Enjoy, or you will die a painful and horrible death. To prevent this, simply follow and then review. Good day."

* * *

Two men stood in the doorway of a laboratory. Light glinted off silicone flooring, tiles separated by sheets of high-grade metal and bolts. Monitors stacked and separated by flat lined boxes were screwed down in the corners. Dead animal carcasses and even humans littered the many stainless steel tables, which instruments of research and manufacture lay motionless next to. The only thing to dampen the manufacture style room would be the blood smeared across the luminescent squares that made up the ground.

The figure on the right, a man with bleach-white hair that spiked into a mane on his back, spoke up, green eyes gleaming dangerously in the shadows. "This child… tell me, why is he so important? Why is he so dangerous?"

The other figure with distinctly red hair pocketed the matching book, focusing his piercing blue gaze on the first. "He is… how should I say…?" There was a short pause. "…Truly a unique specimen," he finished with a short snort. "It would be easiest to meet him, as I would rather not bore you with the details."

The first chuckled. "But, my kind sir, I live for details. I am but a kindly scientist looking towards the future."

"The future, you say? The one where you sit on a throne high up, above the world? You must be joking."

"And you, my friend, shouldn't talk. Your grandeur couldn't be more false. To dream is to aspire, and aspiration is to be like somebody else. To aspire to be a god is to aspire to be like The God." The white-haired man flipped a white bang out of his eye.

The red-haired man followed suit and brushed the silky hair back behind his ear. "But, without aspirations, there can be naught but misery and disarray. In order to move forward, one must move back and see what others had done before."

"Enough of this drivel, Kira. Take me to this boy who you claim is so important."

Kira flicked the rest of his red hair out of his face and smiled. "Of course. Just follow me."

It wasn't long before both of them had stepped to the other side of the room and stood before a clear door. It had a plastic consistency and aberration. The white-haired man thought it looked like plexi-glass, and it was probably as durable as it was. Several slots had been drilled through the material, a dried food stain present on the edge of one.

Through the door stood an empty room save a single oak four-pillared writing desk with excruciating lacerations. Blood splatter pooled on the edge of the oaken desk. A single chair sat, askew with the desk, just as many gouges cut through the matching chair. Both were rudimentary, not expensive enough to matter. The blocky manufactured style of it all led to that obvious assumption.

The floor was just as shiny and cubical as the lab. Some blood smeared itself across the tiles, reminiscent of the outside chambers. It was expected to the two, neither showing any reaction to the state of the room. In the center of the room sat an orange towel, frayed at both ends and browned from blood. In the center of the towel sat a twelve year old boy.

The boy's bright blonde hair contrasted deeply with the frigid cold atmosphere. His eyes stayed closed, unseeing of the two hawks watching him. The pale yet strong body stayed tensed, alert to all sounds which may come. Black spandex covered his body, wrapping around it like a warm blanket. His eyes opened- a cold blue, not unlike those of Kira, and slightly glossy like he wasn't quite perceiving anything, merely seeing.

There was a calm resonating across the entire structure. An aura of peace crept into both men's souls.

Slightly dazed, the white-haired man threw his eyes into the blonde-haired boy's soulless blue ones. "Is that the boy?" he asked. It was a stupid question. That boy was the only other living thing in the lab.

Kira gave a quick glance to his partner before looking back at the blonde-haired boy with a smile. "Yes, it is. If you wish, I may call him over?"

"Of course," the other drunkenly muttered. "Of course…"

Without any prompt, the blond stalked to the door in silence. The movements were jerky and stumbled, but it still took little time for the child to cross the expanse, however small.

Kira shoved the other to the side of the door quite suddenly. The white-haired man, unsuspecting of the sudden movement, didn't stop himself, sending both stumbling back several feet until Kira stopped them at a metal table. Just as the white-haired man was close to protest, he saw the door.

A serrated black blade was stuck through one of the slots, aimed right where he had been standing. Grafted on the blade was "Genesis Project" in a sterling silver. Odd textures on the blade suggested it had been drenched in a dried liquid of some kind, most probably more blood.

"Be careful. I've lost more than a few researchers that way. It's become a custom for me to pull people away from that door." Kira gave another smile and straightened himself, pulling the other up by the arm.

"What the fuck was that!? How did he even get that sword! The room was fucking empty!"

Kira watched the man pant lightly from the yelling. "That is the anomaly. That is my test subject. You should ask him yourself, actually. I'm sure he'll answer you."

"There's no way I'm getting near him. I'll be dead sooner than Everith from the Anaconda experiment group."

A laugh escaped Kira's mouth. "I'll protect you."

"Dammit. Fine. But I'm counting on you not to let me die."

They shared a small chuckle. The white-haired man indulged the idea and stood near the glass, though not near enough for the sword to touch him. Sometime in the lapse of attention, the blade had been removed and placed back wherever it had been before.

"What is your name?" he asked first. It was simple and straightforward. Something that could be easily interpret and answered.

The blond met the man's eyes before answering. "Uzumaki. Naruto Uzumaki. It's a pleasure to meet you, Cyris Leon."

"How did you know my name?" This conversation was already disconcerting. Cyris didn't want to admit it, but he was incredibly frightened of this child.

"The world opens up to those who wish to see."

The answer made no sense. Cyris decided to disregard it until it became important. Instead, he asked "How old are you?"

"I am old enough to have experienced life and young enough to not die, as time is dictated by light. I find myself very gray."

Cyris thought the answer sounded more like a refusal to answer, but he got the feeling the boy was answering truthfully. It almost sounded like one of the legendary Ancients, yet different. More vague, and bordering on psychotic. Was the kid crazy?

"He answers the truth. It only needs interpret. He is nine, by the way, and one of the most powerful individuals I have ever had the chance to meet. He already kills with the efficiency of General Sephiroth."

"That is… disturbing," Cyris commented quietly. "Can you show me? I wish to see this specimen in the field."

Kira's smile grew wider. "Was that first show not enough? Even the commander cannot do such a silent and deadly stab. I have had my heart punctured once, and didn't even realize it until I was on the ground. How do you think I have gotten so good at predicting he strikes?"

The blond boy stood to the side of the door, staring with a fierce intensity onto the conversation. Cyris sent frequent glances in his direction, probably out of fear or nervousness.

"I want to know as much as I can about him, not as little as I can. He has gotten my interest."

"Of course," Kira almost sang. "Follow me."

The two walked across the wall into a bland corner, Kira picking up a manila folder off of an abandoned chair on the way. The red-head swooshed his hand under the nearby desk, and the wall moved to the side not long after, a clicking accompanying every inch the edge moved. When it lay motionless once again, a shaded arch led into a lit room.

The room itself was a viewing platform. Windows lined one wall, looking down onto a modifiable chamber. It had computers set into every crevice, many hooked up to monitor vital components of multiple subjects' health. Only three currently held data on them, all for the one child in the facility. The other monitors routed to microscopic cameras fixed into the walls of the chamber below, giving off blank feed.

Kira held out the manila folder to Cyris, the other man taking it carelessly and flipping it open. Eyes roved through the information, darting to the important words and files. As the man went on, his eyes grew wider with each passing second. Then, skipping to the last page, his eyes stopped at a single line.

"Are you sure this data is correct?" Cyris asked, suddenly.

Kira gave an annoyed glare at the man. "Of course! I recorded it myself. Do you think I'd lie about such a project as this?"

"But this- it's incredible! It's so incredible it's impossible! This can't be real."

"No, nothing is impossible- there are no limits to human ingenuity- it is simply improbable, but possible. And I have proved that here."

Cyris kept a disbelieving visage. "Then I want to see it. I want to see your 'project,' and then I'll determine if what you say is true."

"Understood."

Kira walked over to a console and flipped an obviously used switch. A door opened on the far side of the stage below, revealing a back door to the cage the boy was secluded in. The boy was already standing at the door, like he had anticipated it. Cyris found that to be just as creepy as everything else about the boy.

The boy stumbled forward, looking around and taking in the chrome walls and square floor. He seemed to measure every crack, and every imperfection. Everything was at the mercy of that murky glass gaze. It picked everything apart, tore reality to shreds, and put it back together. Those eyes held understanding of impossibility.

"Will this window hold?" Cyris asked suddenly.

"Yes. Do you not trust me? Do you think me inept? This window is made of Crystallized multi-linderchrome compound, infused with several liters of liquid mako and a barrier spell materia. There is no way it will break."

"Understood," Cyris breathed. He focused back at the window while Kira held down the comm. button. He listened as Kira spoke into the microphone.

"Attention. Attention. There is an intruder on B-2 of the Shinra Corporation building, room 24-L. Code: Black-Alpha-Gamma-Theta. I repeat- There is an intruder on B-2 of the Shinra Corporation building, room 24-L. Code: Black-Alpha-Gamma-Theta. Come immediately."

Cyris smirked, somewhat. "You're such a bastard. If this kid's as good as your file reads, any second class that comes will be dead before he makes it two feet."

"I know. You wanted to see his capabilities, though. I'm giving you that chance."

"You're worse than that asshole Hojo. At least he has the sense of mind not to sacrifice the building's defense."

Kira's ever-present smile grew bigger. "We have all the defense we will ever need, as soon as I perfect this project. We will be unbeatable."

"We will see. Look, the door is opening."

A man rushed forwards through the pane of the door, followed by two others. Heavy plates of metal hung limp over their bodies and heads. Blue uniforms, with "Shinra" printed onto the cuffs, hung loosely over the metal, sagging at the base the shirt and matching pants. Their eyes were an emerald, sparkling, lighting up the darkness of the room; an unnatural side-effect of the power of the earth.

Before any of them made it three feet, Naruto was upon them, looming over their dead corpses. No blade seemed to have been drawn, yet the second class SOLDIER operatives had deep lacerations in their abdomens. One was spilling blood so intensely it was obvious the heart had been everything but torn out. Another had no legs anymore, nor arms. The third seemed to be missing his head. None were alive, and none could be saved.

Naruto glanced up towards the observation deck, hidden by a one-way window, the outside showing only the same monochrome wall as everything else. Kira's smile faded, though only slightly, as he observed this phenomenon. He should have gotten over it; the boy always knowing which observation deck he was in. He couldn't get rid of the sense of unease, though, whenever the boy somehow knew something he shouldn't be able to know.

"That was a waste of life. Those three men could have been great assets to this corporation. Who knows what they could have amounted to?"

"No," Naruto spoke up, suddenly. "Their lives were not wasted. They furthered your understanding; they made no waste."

Cyris glanced at Kira, looking for a reaction. He was disappointed to see no obvious facial contortions. "How did he hear us?"

"I have no idea. But, maybe we should call off the remaining forces before we find ourselves in a predicament?"

"I agree."

Kira flipped the intercom on. "Attention, attention. The threat has been eliminated. I repeat the threat has been eliminated. Please go back to your stations. Have a nice day," he added almost as a joke.

"I believe you, now," Cyris commented. "but tell me, for what reason have you brought me here?"

"I wanted to treat you to such a sight as to provoke your interest. In the next few days, I have to finish dismantling this lab, and I would have you, or a beneficiary of yours, watch this subject for me. Only until I set up in a more private sector."

"So that is what this is about. You've been fired! I never thought I'd see the day the fat bastard Shinra would fire his favorite scientist."

Kira's smile never wavered. "Too much suspicion has been directed at me. Hojo has done an excellent job of redirecting that suspicion, but it has only lasted so long. Shinra is profiling me and my work, so I have to disappear for a while."

Cyris glanced out of the observation window, checking on the state of the boy. There was a distinct lack of bodies, and the boy had already returned to his cell. The blood was still there, though. Splattered and pooling on the ground, coagulating and congealing in a nasty manner.

"Where did the bodies go?" Cyris asked, curious.

Kira's smile widened once again. "I don't know. The boy did something with them."

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?"

"Nobody knows. I've searched and searched, but never are there any bodies found. It's like there were never any to even find."

Cyris once again felt uneasy. "Have you ever asked him?"

"Yes. And every time he answers, he says 'They go where they need to go, and nowhere else.' It is just another mystery."

"How could there be so many mysteries about him? He grew up here, in this cage under constant supervision and cameras. How could so many things slip by?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

"But you-"

"Enough," Kira said, firmly. "We should get back. Have you decided on your course of action regarding the subject?"

"I have a general acquaintance you may know that I'm sure I can convince to take charge of the boy. His name is Angeal Hewley." The look of recognition was obvious. "He'll be perfect, especially with his particular condition."

"That you know where he is, is treasonous, Cyris. How could you even think about that?"

It was in a joking manner, Cyris realized. "I believe we should leave. And don't you think it would be safer to close the doors so the boy doesn't escape?"

"He would not escape, because, in his own words, 'there is nothing out there for me. I do not know the world, and I do not know life. It is pointless to leave.' That is why I do not bother with the usual security. There is nothing to secure. Now, let us go. You should prepare the transfer."

"Of course."

At the exit from the lab into the corridor, they were stopped by a voice. Cyris turned, but Kira didn't bother. It was Naruto, the subject of such disastrous experiments. His words were, for once, certain and delicate, like they were caressing a fragile world ready to fall. Cyris didn't know why, but for some reason, they chilled him to the bone.

"Be careful. It's going to rain soon."

Kira looked over to Cyris. "Well, better watch the sky."

And then they were gone, both the words and the people. Naruto was once again left, blind in the unending dark, his only company the cold grated floor and his warm, bloody towel. It took only moments for him to fall asleep, smiling, because soon, everything would be as it should have been.

* * *

**Subject**: X25-LPM-23

**Name**: Naruto Uzumaki.

**Born**: Unknown.

**Found**: As an infant near Harrace Bridge in the 'Wretch' district of Midgar.

**Warning**: Do not approach without explicit permission. Dangerous subject.

**General information**: Found by Lieutenant Asimov in the Trevize district of Midgar. He has grown up in a controlled environment to study adverse effects from genetic alteration and programming. Each experiment was exceedingly successful where every other went wrong. Subject has shown abnormal healing rates. Introduction of Mako energy has increased the aforementioned healing ability. An unknown residue with a similar energy signature to the Banishment materia has been reported at the abduction site. Has also shown knowledge of abilities beyond the scope of human beings. Possibly a side-effect of the combination of certain genes.

**Project notes**: First successful introduction of the _genesis gene_ discovered in Halbard Rock Cave. Second successful subject of the _Jenova cells_, the first being Commander Sephiroth. First successful subject of the _Phoenix gene_. Third successful subject to have a modified integrated skeletal system, first two also showed phenomenal healing rates. First successful subject _of Project Beast_. Second successful subject of _Project Glass_, first showed intense mutations not visible in Subject X25-LPM-23.

**Unforeseen Side effects**: Eyes have shown mutations (See calculated mutations). Body structure and growth are accelerated, unknown consequences. A form of telepathy, unknown strength. Possible future sightings? Has predicted the deaths of twelve employees in some form. Can somehow incorporate and adapt under duress.

* * *

I'm writing this because I've seen so few good Final Fantasy 7 crossover fics, and many other people have been complaining, too. So, here it is!

I tried to make the scene slightly disturbing and mysterious, so I would appreciate knowing how I did. For those of you who are wondering, yes, Naruto is a bit crazy. He speaks the truth, though, always. I would like to see how different people interpret what he says. Sometimes it alludes to the future, sometimes it shows what's happening behind the scenes. Sometimes it is a piece of philosophy that shows something in another way.

So, I ask you all this:

1) What do you think Naruto did with the bodies? Where could they have gone?

2) What did Naruto mean by "it will rain soon?" and what did it have to do with the two scientists?

3) What is this 'more private sector' Kira speaks of?

4) Why is Naruto the way he is (Guesses are welcome. I want to see how far off people can get from what I have in mind)?

If you feel inclined to answer the above questions in a review, good for you. If you happen to get one of them correct, or, god forbid, ALL of them, there will be prizes.

And, lastly, I hope you enjoyed what I had to write. But, understand, that if you like this story, then I need your support. I look for follows, specifically, but favorites are okay, too.

I also look forward to reviews. I want criticism so I know what you, the people, like. If I don't know what you like, then I'm liable to screw the entire thing up.

Benedark. "Let death bring us equal, and life throw us to hell."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN/** I would like to apologize for making you wait so long for this chapter. I've had so many ideas that I had to write a lot of them down, but I finally got some more ideas for this story. Well, not more ideas exactly, but a will to carry on.

The writing style for this chapter is a little more abstract than the first chapter, but I tried to keep it as concrete as I could. The biggest thing I'm trying to do is transition the writing style to fit the surroundings. I worked at making the travel scenes faster-paced and lighter, while the lab scenes are more ominous. I tried to change the style to fit different point of views, too. I would like to know how I did.

Now, on to the story.

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"Why do you shiver? Why do you fear that which is locked and not broken?"

Cerulean depths of deathly oceans sliced the oxygen-giving air. Ventilation shafts sounded innocuously silent, refusing to give a breath to the question. The cold dents of empty sockets and empty screw holes shivered at the careful shifting of the present personnel. Black shadows elongated. The cool breeze, frigid and unrelenting, rattled the broken glass beakers.

Cyris studied the creeping pale shade across the boy's visage. The eyes darkened minutely. Imperceptibly. Cerulean depths became a bolstered oceanic trench. The pupil, seeming to lengthen unnaturally into an ellipse, was a flounder gasping for air. An unconscious step back alerted the four other personnel to reality.

"Why waver? Why stutter and slink? A lock provokes subservience, and yet the handler is not quelled. The blood rain ceased yet, and five steps are still too little; three are too much." A splendid chuckled escaped those dry lips. "Come, take me. The sacrifice has already been due."

"What… what do you mean 'a sacrifice'?" Cyris asked. The voice came out as nothing but desert air.

"Is this only what came from my mouth to yours? A meaningless doubt, shot by unthinking what is thought. You amaze me." Naruto finally moved. The unnatural motion, unaccustomed to the watchers for the last eternity. His hands came to his chin as he leaned forward, claiming an oddly normal position.

"Then tell me what you want. What are you saying?" A slightly panicked strike of lightning crashed through the cracks of desert. One step forward, repulsing the motion of the step back. "You act like they're already dead!"

"I mean what I mean. Nothing more. An overanalysis kills, and an underanalysis kills. Only the truth does not kill. Know what I say. Nothing more, nothing less."

_Drip, drip, drip, drip._ The slow splash of a puddle crashed through the silence. Cyris spun on his heel. His head whipped to the sides, locating the small sound, but only saw the crimson armor of his four guards. Each had that same vacant look in their eyes he did when he first saw the boy.

Underneath the tables, then? No… the height would be higher. _Damn it!_ The sound was getting louder. It rang uncontrollably through the air, dislodging every nerve. The world started spinning. Spinning… breaking apart. _Drip drip drip. _Everything was falling. A red rain splashed over him.

Cyris opened his eyes. The four guards behind him fell to pieces. The boy, Naruto, was standing right next to him. Naruto opened his cracking lips, red with—was it blood? He could hardly tell anymore. A soft voice, smooth as silk, whispered into his ear. "Would you rather if the beast was not locked?"

Silence. Pure, dead silence. It stretched like elastic. The limber suppleness of the concept turned to a circular feeling. A ring of eternity. It refused to budge, turning rigid and untouchable. Cyris couldn't breathe. He couldn't think or understand. He stood there, in the bath of blood, cage door ajar, lights flickering sporadically, dented and gouged floor rising fast.

Knees hit metal, a resounding clang reverberating. Compressions and rarefactions in the air sending echoes across the demure environment. Then hands, to stabilize. Another clang. It was deadened, like a bag of sand thrashing the floor. Only then did the gasp escape.

The pressure seemed to lift with the escape of air. Cyris panted, choked, coughed, shook, and balanced his mind away from insanity. More coughing. More shaking. Sweat soaked his palms; his back was soaked. His fear was thick in the air. It was rank.

"What do you want? Why are you doing this!?"

Naruto turned his head up in consideration.

"Please, just let me go," Cyris cried. "Just let me go. I'll do anything. Let me go…"

"You would gamble so easily? Words have power. Names have even more. Don't be stupid." Naruto turned away and began for the door at a sedate pace. Hands were thrown haphazardly over the back of his head, and a stumbling—half falling once or twice, like a drunk—gait took the serious posture once portrayed.

Cyris was still. The shaking had stopped, replaced by a sudden feeling of cold. The blood leaking slowly over his hands, the blood of the four guards he had taken, the blood of the uselessly lost, the blood of the hopeful and arrogant; it was like holding liquid nitrogen. The red that contrasted his hands, made his skin look a stark blue. It was a symphony of roses and violets. Consciously, it was a requiem of life and death.

The sound of a door clanging violently shut sent Cyris careening up. A useless attempt to turn sent his foot against tempered aluminum, the medical-grade tables fighting back with no difficulty. Cyris gave only a small wince. The closed door more important than any pain, a symbol of everything, whiter and redder than anything, was once again silent. Cyris felt a sudden stab of loneliness, held together by the tethers of the deceased and not-coming-back. He felt so insignificant. He felt nothing more than dust.

It was a rash decision to run out of the lab, after the _child_. His vision blurred with tears for the fallen. His head ached with the thoughts of the risen. He had to find this experiment, and then he had to terminate it. It was unnatural. If it continued on its path, there would be nothing left.

So, it was startling—only for two seconds—when an airplane crashed right on top of him eight steps out of the Shinra complex. It was just as startling to Kira when the Wutai forces shot his passanger plane out of the air. Kira's face became as red as his hair, and his clothes were red as the roses still in the lab. Cyris turned to a hundred pieces, scattered miles apart. There was no yell, no shout. It was too fast for there to be any pain. It just ended. The unnatural circumstances of such a powerful coincidence made many people watching think of rain. It was a rain of shrapnel and metal. Then it was a saving rain of blood red, blocking Wutai bullets and attacks all across the state. Cyris didn't die in vain.

Naruto only stopped for a minute, to gauge the chaos before muttering "The clock has stopped." With a flourish, his stained black suit was impaled on sixteen sides by starry spears. Each small, glowing strike sank beneath the clothing and mended it into a gelatinous mass. Ripples formed, taking the form of the tracksuit with it and melding it into blue jeans and a plain, white t-shirt. An orange jacket rose out of seemingly flesh. Then, all at once, the mass solidified.

He turned back to the metal landscape before him and walked out. The lights of the night were only accentuated by the hundreds who flocked, flashlights in hand, to the pile of death. He passed a missionary of people hiking, bewildered, across the dreamscape. The squares and boxes, eight stories high, loomed over the spotlighted streets. Heavy shadows grew unstoppable. Entire sections of city lights quickly began to flicker from the sudden activity. Everything bathed in light, and then dark, and then light. The mix of twilight only amplified the fear every creature had.

Through this, Naruto kept walking and stumbling. His feet meandered thoroughly around calculated blocks and across segmented bridges. The gray was overwhelmingly potent. The dreary nightmare was soon joined by flashes of lightning and echoes of thunder. It was moments before rain pelted down and washed the blood away and cleansed the world of their sins, if only temporarily. Naruto sat down on the closest bench, also gray with misery, and listened.

Across the Upper Plate, people sat down in their velvet and mahogany chairs and turned their heads upwards. They stared through the even rain, up into the clouds of matching gray, and contemplated their lives. Their wishes and dreams washed away for the reality the sky showed. President Shinra could see no difference between the deadly clouds and the deadly earth below. Zack Fair could only find similarities in the heavy rain and his heavy heart. Sephiroth knew the same misery as the storm was. Angeal looked out from beneath the ground, and saw only Zack through the depths of the downpour.

Each and every one of them would stare through their sins and sadness, forgetting their meaning and idling on their purpose. Everybody repented until the ocean was done falling, and for that moment each could know happiness before it leaked back out and their war started again. A war of mind, body, and spirit.

"This is life," Naruto said to the air. "This is how the world keeps moving. This is what you have all deprived yourselves of. This is what you all deserve."

Each and every person leaned back in their chair, across the city. People in the streets, all on their own benches or platforms, sighed with smiles. The ones at their study windows closed their eyes and relaxed for the first time in forever. Sleep took them away to a world of color. Each and every person was able to sleep without blood, without war, without death. Just this once.

Naruto stood up in the passing silence and turned through the mute rain. His feet once again carried him, a more direct and sure path; no more meandering or stagnant trips. The poison was eradicated from him. The rain cleansed him. It was dawning on the time for travel, and to be where he is needed. With a push, he moved on.

On and on and on. Over the lip of the great floating plate. Across the gouges in the earth and the plains of darkened soil and trash. Through mountains and rivers. A guiding hand drove his motions; the essence of the universe. He touched down atop a small plateau, tremors shaking the rocky surface painfully.

"Who're you!?"

The voice came from the blue-clad man next to a large drill. The constant cutting resonated across the cavernous ravines as a duly echoing white noise. The occasional crashes of cracked boulders spit over the towers upon towers of mountains. A whirlwind of repeated sounds blew over the large facility to the very side of the plateau. This man, wearing a cheap Shinra extractor uniform, was barely a pebble in such a large rock.

"I said, 'who are you!?' Don't make me get the guards!"

"Does it matter? The chains of fate will drag you along with avail."

The man took a menacing step forward, his black hair swaying slightly from the wind. It was obvious he thought of Naruto as nothing more than a talented child. "This is not a place for you, boy. Tell me your name and I'll get the boss to arrange a flight out of here."

"That is unnecessary," Naruto cracked. "You will alert the guards. It is written."

"And what do you know of fate, boy? I don't think you're the type to preach that shit. Now tell me your name and we'll call it a day."

With a small, spacey smile, Naruto replied, "I believe not in fate, for I have severed those strings many years ago."

The man sighed. "My name is Cresseth. Now, please, I would like to know your name. Would that be okay? I don't want to keep calling you 'boy.'"

"This conversation is insignificant. Follow your course."

"Stop talking like that! You act like one of those fuckin' prophets, or something. 'You'll all burn in hell' and all that. I get enough shit as it is. If you're not going to tell me your name, then come with me. I'll get the guards to…" he began trailing off as he walked off. Naruto joined him, carefully sidestepping around invisible shadows.

"Strings are more numerous here than anticipated…" Naruto murmured. He looked around and sped up. "Speed shall save this day."

"Hey, kid, where're you going? Get back here!"

The man, Cresseth, sped up to match Naruto's speed. A staircase leading into the mine, poorly constructed and cracked, bid acceptance to the duo. Every tremor and shake knocked Cresseth off balance and sent the staircase lightly swaying. The silver upon silver, shiny lab-like innards hidden inside the tons of rock. It was a paper model of the cage, though hundreds were fit where few would reside.

The same square machinery and cubic paneling created a monotony of predictability. The sense of idle familiarity encompassed through such an emotionless face increased work ethic and decreased failures. White lab-coats mixed with the worker-blues in a cacophony of controlled chaos. Notes were written, studies were processed, prisoners were escorted, workers were transported, tunnels were crafted. It generated a lasting 'motion' which eclipsed the true purposes of this facility.

It was an addition to the first mako experimental facility, dubbed Reactor X-1, located at Mount Nibel.

It shall not be destroyed this day, not by that man. Naruto had severed the fates from that man; prevented their leech and restored his sanity. He may have known not of what was to come, but with no fate guiding his movement, no city shall burn, and no war shall be struck. Shinra will fall to the public, not to any sword.

Naruto ran straight for the restricted section, passing through door upon door. He dodged left past several guards, and dove through a layer of glass. He leapt over three mako converter silos, landing at a single metal door, bolted with three large locks and an electric keycode. Lead fittings segmented the door to prevent forced entry and radiation. Foot thick cast iron was lined with more malleable tempered steel and multiple barrier-like spells. Carbine-ether-sterincarbon molding held the structured door tightly to the wall. It could hold everything short of Sephiroth out.

And Naruto.

* * *

Angeal watched as the door opened. He didn't know when he woke up from the enrapturing rain, or how he got there, but it was where he was supposed to be. He would be prepared for the worst, and hope for the best. If everything went accordingly, he would leave with a short-time apprentice who just may be able to relieve him of the pain Zack had left with him. It was a small hope.

The heavy gate pushed slowly against the hinges, seeming almost forced—though that couldn't be right. Soon, the light of the natural mako slid in and bathed the darkened room in a supernatural glow, highlighting the shadows on his black, shoulder length hair. It was then that Angeal saw a single entity walk in. It was his new charge.

There was only a brief widening of the boy's eyes before the child froze a stare at him. The stillness was unnatural; piercing through the darkness right at him were stony ocean eyes, no breath escaped that boy's lungs, nothing. Those eyes seemed to stare right through him, like he was absent.

Then: "I believe I had freed you from fate's shackles."

Angeal only rose a single eyebrow in question.

"Yet there are more sewn to your skin than that. Troublesome. Less dangerous, yet more annoying," Naruto continued unimpeded.

"Where is Doctor Razier? Wasn't he supposed to escort you?"

"Cyris Razier is preoccupied at the moment. Kira Zessei's plane was cancelled, and Cyris was caught in the middle."

Angeal quirked the other eyebrow. "Damn it. Cyris promised to give me a hand."

"You could probably find one," Naruto replied cooly.

"You're a bit off. You know that?"

"On and off are relative to the discontinuities of the universe. Now, move."

Naruto crossed the distance between them before pushing the taller to the side forcefully. The iconic green eyes widened from the force before he saw where Naruto was headed.

"Hey! You can't go back there. You're not allowed—hell, I'm not allowed! Get back here!"

Angeal ran toward Naruto, who had somehow blown the wall apart and was standing in front of a capsule. A giant spear, crystal and beautiful, materialized above the glass capsule holding a deformed woman. Its ruby-encrusted shaft of bone white minerals gained black thorns, and the crescent head of diamond and sapphire blades contained a black flame. It floated in the air for only enough time so Naruto could send one last glance at Angeal. Then, the executioner's blade descended on the prison, sending a backlash of energy throughout the facility.

White encompassed the world. Angeal could no longer see. There was absolutely nothing but an abyss of purgatory. He couldn't feel, or smell, or taste. All he could do was hear Naruto's voice amplify across the world.

"In order to tear space, fate must be denied. I'm sorry."

Angeal felt something pierce his chest. It was cold and hard, and it tore. He lost all feeling in his right arm, then his left. He wanted to scream, but there was no sound in this world save the boy's. Blackness faded into view, contradictory to the white. Then, nothing.

* * *

**Medical File Page 1**

**Subject:** X25-LPM-23

**Name: **Naruto Uzumaki

**Born:** Unknown

**General Overview**: Patient Naruto Uzumaki shows incredible health, remarkable for even mako-infused patients. There are several abnormal qualities about the patient, including increased skin regeneration, calcium construction and formation- specifically centered in the bones, abnormal muscle growth, a faster circulatory system, an advanced respiratory system, and an extra, unknown system of networks that circulate an unidentifiable energy.

**Neurological:** There seems to be an imbalance of white and gray matter, commonly observed in elderly persons and nicotine addicts. Oddly, these imbalances in the brain aren't showing common side-effects such as retardation or a lapse of consciousness, and instead have sped up neurological processes. There are traces of a brain tumor, but it has not spread in seven years. An extra pocket has formed in the brain behind the cerebral lobe three days after the introduction of _phoenix gene_. It is speculated to have been a mutation of the _beast gene_.

**Psychological: **Has displayed incredible cognitive ability. Strategic ability has surpassed anything seen before, and the electrical frequencies of the neurotransmitters in the brain are functioning faster and more succescient than anything observed previously. It begs the question of the observed behavioral patterns identified in the patient.

The patient is commonly silent, only speaking when spoken to. Over the past year, subject has spoken more frequently, casting suspicion to motives. There have been periods of immovability, where the subject practically turns to stone. The subject, in these periods, will cease all motion and seem to stare. It is uncertain if the subject is conscious at these times, but nothing is capable of piercing the skin over these periods. Other unnatural behavior leads to conclusions of possible insomnia and advancing insanity.

In fighting situations, subject Naruto Uzumaki shows no identifiable emotions. Neurological studies give credence to bloodlust, but it isn't externally visible. Several cases have observed subject to cut the air with the organic sword he protrudes around the victim rather than immediately killing the victim. In these situations, victim usually shows signs of a migraine before demise.

**Concluding Mental Health Statement**: Patient Naruto Uzumaki is unstable and should be guarded at all time. Approach with caution. Personal statement: I believe the patient should be terminated at the earliest convenience without prejudice.

* * *

**AN/ **I also tried to make the last health report believable. How did I do?

I would like to thank the twelve people who reviewed for reviewing, and the forty-nine who followed my work of literature. Four people attempted to answer the end-of-chapter questions on the last chapter. I appreciate the work.

AnsemMesna got pretty close on the second question, but it was a bit obscure. I was going for the "A plane crashes" thing, but that may have been too exact. If you want, you can create an OC character, their skills, alignment, affiliation, etc. Have fun with it, and let your imagination go wild.

ForgottenKami was closest on question 4, pertaining to the phoenix gene. If you would like, you may help specify what the mutations in Naruto's eye are. It could be a dojutsu, to a simple change in eye color when he gets angry. It can be original, or already created, but you should PM me so I can tell you what the genetic experiments do to Naruto and see if you want them to influence the eye mutations at all.

For the above, it is all optional. You don't have to do any of that if you don't want to. It's just to be nice. Also, if there's anything any of the readers want to see happen, put it in a review and I'll see what I can do. I'll even give credit to you. See how nice I am?

Questions: and prizes in ()'s.

1) Why does Naruto keep talking about fate's chains and fate's strings? (OC character)

2) What does it mean "In order to tear space, fate must be denied"? (Summoning contract(s)

3) How do the two previous questions tie in with Naruto's appearance in Gaia? (Body alterations)

4) Where will Naruto go, now (Specifics)? (surprise)

5) What is my awesome physics and science fiction reference in chapter 1? (I will surely reference your ideas in this piece)

Honestly, I can't believe nobody called me out on the awesome science fiction reference in the first chapter. It was so OBVIOUS! You people must not read that much...

I would appreciate reviews for this, and I would enjoy hearing your ideas on how this is going. I don't know what you people want, so I ask that you educate me on those things.

Benedark. -Where evil clashes and political games flow, there is always that one idiot that says "This is useless."


End file.
